Hellfire
by DemonicHeir430
Summary: Ente Isla should be safe from the Demon King, Satan. Who along with his last surviving generals is too preoccupied with his part-time job and Emi to make his return. Should. However some demon have arrived to force Maou to return to his kingdom, by taking him and his friends along. Whats worse, now they all have to protect Chiho and another human who got pulled along with them.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based fiction. The Devil is a Part-Timer is property of Satoshi Wagahara, Naoto Hosoda, White Fox, and Funimation._

* * *

_The grass crackled and sputtered beneath the rising crimson colored flames, and the whole scene carried the nauseating scent of burning flesh. A small hand reached out from under a pile of wood and folded tent sacks, miraculously untouched by the growing grass fire. A similarly small child accompanied the tiny hand, and they dug themselves out of the discarded pile. Once their first task was over, the child looked over the scene before them. Gritting their teeth and grabbing their hair out of anger an ear-shattering screech escaped delicate lips. 'Blood!' the child thought 'those greedy savages murdered them all for our _blood_.' The child looked over at a pile of corpses, the whole village, and they set their eyes on the top of the pile, recognizing an older female and her young son. 'Mother? Big Brother?' the child thought silently, the father was nowhere in sight, but there was no need to think too hard about his fate. Anger flared in the child's deep blue irises and the fires surrounding the camp died down, drained by powerful magic. "Humans." A young feminine voice uttered these words with a poisoned tone, "You will pay for what you have destroyed here, and you will pay for what you were too blinded by greed to find." The young, female demon sank down to her knees and held back tears, not noticing the growing shadow behind her._

* * *

Sunlight escaped from the cloud cover, finding its way through the curtains of small, fifth-story apartment and unto the sleeping face of its only occupant. Not ten seconds later the alarm sounded its obnoxious chorus of beeps, until repeatedly smashed by an annoyed fist. Mari Hitodama slowly ascended from the comfort of her thick covers and stretched her arms toward the ceiling to begin her typical morning ritual. She grabbed her glasses off the bedside table, walked to the kitchen, set the kettle on straight, and turned on her small stovetop burner to heat up morning tea. Mari undressed from her nightclothes and stepped into a warm shower, she allowed herself only five minutes so that she could change and stop the tea from boiling over, she was going to need a shower at the end of the day anyway. Her clothing choice consisted of a dark loose cowl-neck shirt and baggy pants. Not the most original style, sure, but Mari preferred the familiar comfort. She gulped down her tea then proceeded to grab her backpack and energy bar, taking one last look at the easel positioned by the window with a half-painted Tokyo skyline, and heading out the door.

'Almost there' Mari thought to herself, simultaneously sneaking past her neighbor's apartment. Thinking she was in the clear, Mari grinned to herself and rounded the corner towards the stairs, only to bump into a tall, intimidating human being known as Chikaze Tsukino. Chikaze whipped around and used her fear-inducing emerald orbs to locate the U.A.O (Unidentified Annoying Object for those who cannot understand a good joke when it smacks them in the face with a turkey leg). The eyes spent a good long minute searching at their level before gracing those with shorter statures with their gaze. 'Now that's just cruel!' Mari sweat drops, and then realizes that an awkward silence has quieted the space between the two women. "Uh… good morning Tsukino-san?" the shorter of the two tries a little wave.

"Humph." Chikaze grunts in reply, but much to Mari's relief her neighbor does nothing more than push past her.

'Must have been a tough night.' Mari peaks her head around the corner to watch Chikaze silently open the door to her darkened apartment and walk inside. Checking her cheap brand name watch, Mari curses something about flame-haired brick walls and sprints down the stairs and out the glass doors of the apartment complex.

It took no time to reach the metro station, but by the time Mari made it on board, she was gulping in air like a fish on land (because similes). A group of teenagers on their way to school glared at Mari as she took her seat, mistaking her youthful appearance for teen like them, but with the freedom to skip school and highlight the tips her dark brown hair royal blue. The "possible boyfriend thief" simply smiled kindly at the silly students and winked at one of them. Pink faded into place on the girls' features as they all look away, locked in an endless struggle between being flattered and wondering where their sexual preferences lie. Mari laughed to herself internally 'that should keep me safe for a while.' She looked through her backpack, until she located her MP3 (yes they DO exist) and a pair of headphones, and closing her deep blue eyes as she listened to her favorite songs.

Four stops later, Mari finally exited the station and made her way to work.

Ueno Zoo, Mari's current place of employment, would open in an hour and then the real fun would start. The afternoon maintenance staff cleaned up the park the night before, but the morning crew had to complete the rounds and make sure everything was in working order. It was a large zoo, and required a good number of employees to manage it. Mari continuously reminded herself how lucky it was for her to have gotten this job, though not glamorous, it paid surprisingly well. Mari worked well with the animals and they seemed to calm down whenever she is around, as discovered when she came to the park to be interviewed.

Mari walked up the employee entrance, swiped her card and went down the hallway. Left, left, right, two doors down and a few skips later, the animal whisperer reached the girls locker room. Asuka was already done changing when Mari arrived.

"Hey there you!" Asuka called over her shoulder, "Remind me to ask you a favor after your shift today."

"Why not ask me now?" Mari pushed past her to get to Locker 43.

"Alright fine," Asuka turned toward her friend and clasped her hands together, twisting her face into a pout. "So the local Elementary school is going to be here next week for an overnight field trip, with tents and stuff. Hayate is going out of town for a family thing and I really need an assistant. Would you mind staying up all night watching kids? If you sign up you can take the day shift off."

The other girl was re-buttoning up her polo shirt when Asuka stopped. She turned to look at her co-worker and started for a while, thinking it over.

"Kids…" she finally stated. "Sure I don't mind at all, glad that you choose me for this!" A bright smile flashed upon her features.

"Well," Asuka waved her hand and turned to face opposite of Mari. "You weren't exactly my first choice. That cute Nobu boy, the new guy, he was my first choice, but he had something to do." She turned back to her friend and winked. "Your not a cute boy, but you'll do just nicely."

Mari was still for a moment, looking to the ground. Asuka assumed she was hiding a blush, until Mari suddenly jerked her head upward and a menacing smile and cold eyes spoke danger. The closest beating utensil happened to be the shoehorn, the angered teen keeps in her locker. Asuka visibly paled and started to make her way to the door, but Mari charged her in a flash. The escaping girl just yanked the door closed when she hear a loud _**snap**_ from the horn hitting the surface of said door.

When Asuka's receding footsteps quieted down, Mari slowly brought down the horn from above her head. She laughed hysterically as soon as the object hit the floor with a dull thud. Two minutes went by as the teen got the event out of her system. Glad that she could have fun like this everyday, with people who like her and don't know of her past sins. Mari wished she could have this life forever, but something in her gut told her that something big was going to happen soon, something that may take this wonderful life away from her happy embrace.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**So this is my first FanFic. yay! If you haven't figured it out, this story will be about Fem!Malacoda. I don't have any betas either so feedback is a MUST! Also it seems many of you Part-Timer fans have read through the light novels and I have not. If ya'll have any links to places I can read it that would be greatly appreciated. If not then I'll ask those of you that have read through the gaps to fill me in if I get a speculation wrong. Oh and the main characters will be in the next chapter!**

**Until then,**

**DemonHeir430**


	2. Chapter 2

"Okay done! So what now?" A tall, lanky boy just finished raking up hay that had fallen from the feeding trough. Mari looked up from a crouched position to look at Nobu, the newest member of the maintenance staff. She had been given the task of overseeing his training, something about them being closer in age, which confused Mari seeing as she was 24, and Nobu was a 17 year old in high school looking for a job. Mari then looked down at the small bundle of hay Nobu made, and moved her sight to the scattered pieces of hay that still surrounded them.

"What is that?" Mari turned back to the larger pile of hay and stuck her pitchfork in. "Because that is obviously not what I asked for when I told you to rake up the leftover hay."

"This wasn't what I thought I was going to do when I signed up!" Nobu whined, "I'm a man! Give me your job."

Mari sighed, Nobu was cute and all, but he sure was annoying. Maybe Asuka would take the boy for shadowing. That would be returning the favor. In fact, the brat kind reminded Mari of another annoying former co-worker of hers.

Lost in thought, Mari almost missed Nobu walking up to her and taking the pitchfork from her hands. She relinquished her grip and backed off to allow Nobu the space needed to swing the hay into the overhead trough. The kid could at least do that much, he was a _man_ after all. Mari stepped over to the abandoned rake and began to rake up the remaining bundles of hay, daydreaming. Soon it would be lunch break and then Mari would ask Asuka if she would take Nobu for the rest of the day. Mari left her thoughts to check up on the new guy; Nobu was currently turning red from unsuccessfully attempting to lift the pitchfork from the pile. The senior sweat dropped; embarrassed for forgetting that she was far stronger than she looked. Which often lead others to believe that the objects she lifts are lighter than they are. The idiot was beginning to turn a dark shade of purple, but continued to strain his muscles with an angry look.

Mari pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a migraine coming on.

* * *

On the other side of the park, a small family dynamic was arguing at the front entrance. The main source of the noise came from an unlikely couple. A tall, fuchsia-haired girl was fuming at a boy with dark green, almost black hair.

"Maou this is ridiculous! When I agreed to coming to the zoo for Alas=Ramus I didn't think you would bring those two idiots with you!" Pointing an accusing finger at the 'idiots' Emi Yusa, or the Hero Emilia to the denizens of Ente Isla, glared daggers.

One of the 'idiots' mentioned, a teen with amethyst eyes, looked up from his position under the shade of a tree. He had a black cap on to hide his dark purple hair, a precaution only necessary in places with a high police presence. Hanzō Urushihara, or Demon General Lucifer, pouted at Emi's weak choice in insults.

"She's right. What if I attract attention to us?" He sent a worrying glance in the direction of the security guards at the front gate. "I'd be much better off at home."

"Nonsense!" the boy with dark green hair answered. "I heard somewhere that it is crucial for a child to develop better in environments with a close-nit family setting. Besides…" Maou Sadao, the Great and Powerful Demon King, added this next part with a triumphant smirk, "today they have a discount and my bonus from MgRonald's came in yesterday. It's the perfect excuse to get you to exercise a little."

"Are you calling me a lazy bum again? Because I remember helping Ashiya clean the apartment three days ago." The Fallen Angel muttered. The phrase fell deaf on Maou's ears, but Shirō Ashiya, otherwise known as the Demon General Alciel, heard the teen loud and clear.

"You are the lazy bum! And may I remind you that you're the one who made the mess in the first place! The only reason I think you should come along is so I can keep an eye on you!" The blonde placed a hand on the purple-haired teen's hat and applied pressure. "The farther away you are from that laptop the more money we can save in the long run."

"Ow! Stop that! It hurts!" Urushihara complained.

"Mama! Papa! Look!" a child's voice brought Emi and Maou's attention to a grove of trees, where the pinnacle of innocence, a child born from the fruit of the Tree of Life, Alas=Ramus was holding a flower she picked from one of the nearby bushes. Alas=Ramus' small figure was supported by Chiho Sasaki, a local high school student and confidant to the Hero and Demon King's secret. While Emi and Maou argued, Chico decided to take Alas=Ramus to the grove so that the child would not cry over her 'parents' being upset.

"It's a beautiful flower she picked all by herself." Chiho said while flashing her signature smile.

"I wanna give it ta mama!" Alas=Ramus struggled in Chiho's arms, demanding to be placed on the ground. Chiho complied, setting the small child carefully on the walkway. Alas=Ramus ran to Emi, her long silver hair with the unusual purple line flew up in the breeze. The child met with Emi's arms and the Hero picked her up and allowed her daughter to place the white blossom in her hair.

"I apologize for keeping you all waiting." Everyone present turned their attention to the speaker. A small girl in a traditional kimono who no one would guess to be an inquisitor from the Church of Ente Isla, Crestia Bell, or Suzuno Kamazuki according to Japan's official records made her way to the group and bowed.

"Ah! Suzuno! Just in time! Now we can get in before the line gets too long!" Maou said happily. Urushihara reluctantly stood up from his sitting position on the ground and followed the others to the ticket booth. A women in her later 20s with dark, cropped hair greeted them all with a smile, especially toward Alas=Ramus.

"One adult and one minor, please." Emi frowned at the women's smile that never wavered once, the nametag on her collard polo said 'Asuka.'

"Of course! And would your little one like a sticker?" Asuka asked.

"The purple one!" Alas=Ramus pointed at the purple sticker with a chibli bear napping. Emi found this ironic since Yesod, one of the ten Sephira that Alas=Ramus was born from was identified with the color, and Emi happened to like bears, courtesy of the Relax Bear© brand she frequently uses.

Suzuno and Chiho paid for their tickets separately. The residents to the Devil's Castle, Villa Rosa, stepped up to receive their tickets.

"Three adult tickets, please." Maou flashed a winning smile, which was returned, surprisingly, by a frown from Asuka. Maou immediately thought that something was not right and began to think of what could be the problem. He was on 'Urushihara was making rude gestures' when the attendant finally spoke up.

"Umm… you do realize that we identify minors as anyone 15 and under, right?"

The whole group all turned to look at Urushihara, who, stood rigid and wide-eyed and began turning a gentle shade of red. Maou decided it would be best to take advantage of the situation.

"Oh… of course! Silly me! Guess I didn't read the sign right. That's two adults and one _minor_, please."

Asuka blinked, but quickly changed her expression back to the kind smile; she took Maou's money and began printing the tickets. By then, Urushihara was an even darker shade of red. Emi and Suzuno were glaring directly at Maou for his lie, Chiho was looking at him with disappointment and Ashiya had folded his arms while nodding, seeing this as a necessary step for the good of their budget.

"Here are your tickets! Would he like a sticker too?" Asuka asked handing Maou their passes. Urushihara was looking at the ground and refused to answer, even as Ashiya started nudging him.

Maou answered the question for him. "Yes I think he would like the turtle, please."

Asuka nodded and removed the green turtle from its place on the sticker roll and passed it to Maou, who in turn stuck it on the black cap. Inwardly grinning at his cleverness to use the turtle, known for hiding in a shell all day and being slow, to describe Urushihara. Urushihara had not yet left his daze, so Maou grabbed the boy's shoulders and moved him away from the counter, as to not take up the line.

* * *

**Author's Note: Urushihara does not look 18 to me! Ironic as I think he may be the oldest out of all of them. Remember to tell me if something is wrong.**

**DemonicHeir430**


	3. Chapter 3

As the group entered the zoo, Chico stepped up to be in front and pointed at the map.

"So what does everyone want to see first? I haven't been here since I was a little kid, so I don't remember much."

"Bear! Bears! Bears!" Alas=Ramus chanted happily. "Mama wants to see them too!"

Emi signed and let a small smile imprint her cheeks. She remembered when Alas=Ramus told her that when she grew up, she wanted to be everything Emi liked: bears and curry. She did want to see the bears that were in captivity here. Back in Ente Isla, Emi was too busy fighting demons to actually see one.

Suzuno moved forward and looked carefully at the map. She placed her index finger on the red dot that signified their current location, and traced the yellow-colored walkway symbol to the panda exhibit.

"Looks like we go to the right at the open area at that will take us to Giant Panda bears." She answered, looking back at the group.

They all started making their way to the bears. Alas=Ramus escaped Emi's arms and ran around, careful to not be too far from her mother, knowing that she would be scolded. Maou looked at Alas=Ramus with puppy dog eyes that helped everyone they passed recognize him as a doting parent. The child was wearing a bright yellow sundress that billowed in the gentle breeze that blessed the warm summer day. Everyone looked at their surroundings, marveling at the different species that the zoo displayed. Save Urushihara and Ashiya, the purple-haired boy still had not recovered from the embarrassment at the ticket booth, and continued to look at the ground. Ashiya took Maou's job of pushing him along.

When they finally reached the bear exhibit, Urushihara finally looked up. The Panda bears were currently munching on their breakfast of bamboo sticks. Alas=Ramus looked transfixed on the adorable creatures behind the fence and got as close as possible. Maou took this opportunity to hoist Alas=Ramus onto his shoulders and move to the front of the crowd. Even Emi, who didn't seem to know what fun was, looked at the Pandas eat in awe. Suzuno stared with an apparent grimace, but it was not from anger, but of surprise at what she was seeing.

Now the Pandas were walking around their habitat, one even came right up to the fence where Maou was holding Alas=Ramus, and sat down. Chiho looked at her friends and smiled, while she was used to things like this, it was good to see the reactions of people who come from a world that may not even have Panda bears. The stare fest lasted for near 30 minutes when Chiho decided to speak up.

"Why don't we go to the next exhibit, we have so much more to see. Plus, there are different types of bears that they have here."

Everyone turned to look at Chico, their expressions filled with surprise and excitement. They reluctantly moved away from the Pandas and made their way to the African section of the park.

As they walked Maou felt a surge of energy coming from somewhere nearby. It was small, but it felt like demonic magic. He looked to Urushihara and Ashiya to see if they felt it too, but the two showed no signs of having felt something. Maou decided to shrug it off as the presence of negative human emotions in the area, which wouldn't be too unusual, and continued walking.

* * *

Lunch break. 'Finally!' Mari thought to herself. She nearly lost Nobu as she speed walked to the employee area. The two entered the lunch room and grabbed their lunches. Nobu went over to the student employee table and Mari waited in line at the microwave. She brought Nikujaga today, her favorite meal. After she successfully heated her lunch she walked over to the table where Asuka was sitting. Her friend had placed a leg on the chair next to her, to reserve the spot for Mari. Asuka had yet to notice that Mari had arrived, so Mari took moment to plop down right on top of Asuka's outstretched leg.

"Hey!" Askua yelped. Mari smiled sweetly at the other's pain. Hayate, sitting across the table, laughed wildly. Hayate was a lean-muscled man in his early 30s, he had spiky black hair that reminded Mari of staring into a void. His looks are envied by all married men, and any women who looks at him suddenly find it appropriate to faint. Mari tended to look at her attractive friends and think of her own features. She tanned easily, which was unusual in comparison to other employees who spend all day in the sun and stayed pale all year long. When she was working, Mari kept her long, wavy hair in a French braid that clung to her shirt enough to stay out of the way. The royal blue highlighted ends of her hair seemed to draw in the most attention from those passing by. Her eyes matched the highlights perfectly in color, but despite these traits, Mari never thought of herself as attractive as her friends.

A loud snapping sound broke Mari from her daze.

Asuka had her hand in front of Mari's face, snapping her fingers. "Hello? Earth to Mari. Get off my **leg**!" Asuka yelled directly in Mari's ear.

"Wyaaahh!" Mari exclaimed, falling forward and onto the table top (luckily not on her lunch), as Asuka forcefully removed her leg from under the younger's behind. Hayate was still laughing, and beginning wheeze as he ran out of oxygen to his lungs. Both of the girls, now fully recovered from their battle, looked at him with unhappy faces.

"I hope he chokes." Mari mutters angrily.

"Yep." Asuka agreed.

Unfortunately for the two, Hayate regained his air supply and was now just wheezing. Mari decided to ask her question.

"Hey, Asuka?"

"What?"

"Would you mind taking Nobu for the rest of the day for me?"

"What? You want to kill him already?"

"He's really obnoxious."

"That's fine." Asuka reclined more in her chair and closed both eyes, "He'll be better off with me anyway." Asuka opened one eye to look at Mari's expression. She was not disappointed to see Mari had closed her lips tightly and began turning red with rage. Asuka knew that Mari hated being referred to as incompetent. Satisfied with the chaos she caused, Asuka decided to bring something else up.

"Hey guess what I saw today!"

"What?"

"No, Mari, you have to guess."

"Chikaze punched the wrong person is now sitting in a jail cell?" Mari said in quite voice, she was looking at her food. Asuka frowned, she was aware of the tension between Mari and her flame-haired neighbor. She never personally met with Chikaze, but she was sure that it would not be pleasant.

"Sorry but no. I saw the cutest little baby today! She had silver hair and a purple highlight. Which is weird, I didn't think parents would let a child dye her hair so young! I also saw this adorable little boy. I think he was with a homosexual couple, but he had this hair that was the prettiest shade of dark purple!"

Asuka noticed Mari had grown stiff after the last sentence. Believing that she hit the right nerve, Asuka continued.

"Yeah! He didn't talk much, but his dad(?) gave him the turtle sicker. It was so cute!" Asuka squealed that last part, her apparent affection for kids showing. Mari still had not said anything. Asuka looked over and saw that she was still looking down at her lunch, now poking it with her chopsticks. Getting worried Asuka reached her hand out to gently touch her friend's shoulder. Hayate, recovered, was watching closely. Her fingers made contact, Mari immediately stood up and walked out the main door towards the bathrooms.

Asuka and Hayate exchanged glances and agreed that they would wait for her to come back. Asuka looked at Mari's semi-touched lunch and sighed. When Mari came back, Asuka was going to have to reheat the Nikujaga.

* * *

Mari ran until she had reached the private bathroom and locked the door. She walked to the sink and ran the cold water. She splashed the cool liquid on her face and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She never used a mirror that much before, but she looked so different now.

Asuka's comment still rang through her ears. A wave of nostalgia hit Mari like a bullet.

"I'm so sorry." Mari told her reflection, "Its my fault that this happened."

She felt like crying, but the tears would never come. Asuka and Hayate would be worried, and Mari had to put on her best game face to survive the rest of her shift. She practiced her smile in the mirror; it looked normal. At least her friends wouldn't press the issue.

Just then, a familiar feeling set off alarms in Mari's body. She looked towards the locked door and sniffed the air.

'Magic?' Mari thought. 'Impossible. Not in this world."

Mari allowed doubt to settle in her mind and let the matter drop.

* * *

**Author's Note: Nikugaja is kinda like a Japanese beef stew. I personally have never eaten it but if you look it up on Google images, it looks delicious. **

**In case you were confused with the Suzuno grimace scene, just imagine Suzuno at the Panda exhibit like, 'The cuteness. It's over 9000!'**

**Yeah. Can you guess what Mari's issue is?**

**DemonicHeir430**


	4. Chapter 4

Maou's group agreed that it was time for a lunch break. Urushihara, who completely forgot the embarrassment from that morning at the mere mention of food, walked faster than the rest to the lunch vendors. Emi had brought Alas=Ramus food, thinking that anything they served at the zoo would be too difficult for Alas=Ramus to consume. Chiho and Suzuno, both of whom ate a filling breakfast, walked to the snack station to get something to munch on. Maou, who was depressed to discover that MgRonald's was not an option, allowed Ashiya to steer him and Urushihara to the vendor with the cheapest choices.

"Can I get pizza?" Urushihara was practically jumping up and down with excitement over the prospect of eating something he didn't order without Ashiya's permission.

Ashiya allowed Urushihara his pizza, Maou got the curry rice and Ashiya ordered a cheap salad. The boys joined the girls and sat at the table next to them.

Urushihara scarfed down his pizza at an alarming speed, prompting Ashiya to yell at him.

"Your going to get sick if you eat you food like an animal!" he hissed.

It was too late, as Urushihara has taken the last bite from his lunch, he moved on to slurping his soft drink.

"I have to say." Maou spoke up, "The service here is amazing."

"Figures." Emi countered, feeding a spoonful of food to Alas=Ramus. "Come to the zoo to have fun. Maou wants to critique the workers."

"It's not unusual." Chiho preferred to take Maou's side in most arguments (not like she has a crush on him or anything). "I have to agree with Maou-san that the park looks really clean and the animals well treated."

This quelled the incoming storm for now. Urushihara had grabbed his stomach, his face twisted in pain.

"That's what you get!" Ashiya noticed this, "The bathrooms are over there." He pointed to the directional sign. Urushihara jump out of his seat and ran to the restrooms. Ashiya signed and got up.

"I'd better go with him."

"I will go as well." Suzuno had returned from putting her trash in the bin. Emi sat up as well.

"Yeah I think I'll go too." She lifted up Alas=Ramus, checking the child's dipper to see if it was damp. It was still clean, so Emi placed her back on the child's stool.

"Chiho, could you watch Alas=Ramus for me please?"

"Hey!" Maou complained. A little hurt that Emi would refuse to acknowledge him as a capable father for Alas=Ramus.

"I'd be happy to!" Chiho said, a little sad that Emi still tried to make Maou feel inferior.

Emi followed Ashiya and Suzuno to the restrooms, Alas=Ramus had finished eating her lunch and demanded her papa's attention.

"Papa! Papa! Hold me!" she called out. Maou picked her out of her seat and in the process, the tupperware that held the food was knocked off the table. The remaining contents spilled over the table and on Chiho's clothes and the plastic casing met the ground with a clang.

Alas=Ramus, afraid of loud noises and surprised by the mess, began to cry. Maou tried his best to comfort her, but she thrashed her arms, ruining any attempt to reason with her.

"Hey now. It's okay look." A new voice said calmly. Chiho and Maou looked over at the newcomer. A girl in the maintenance uniform bent over to pick up the fallen container, placing it on the surface of the table.

"See everything is okay now!" The girl smiled at Alas=Ramus, who stopped crying to stare at the new comer in awe.

Maou took notice of her long brown hair tied in a braid, the tips of her hair a dark blue color. She was very pretty by human standards Maou would admit, her most noticeable feature being the unusual freckle pattern that started below her ears and continued down her neck and hid under her green uniform shirt.

The girl crouched down to match her blue eyes to Alas=Ramus' luminous purple orbs. "Are you having fun today?" she asked.

Alas=Ramus was sniffling now. "Yeah." She replied.

"Did you see the Pandas?"

This brought happiness back to Alas=Ramus' face. "Yeah!" she said excitedly. "They were cute and they made my Mama smile!"

"Did they now? That's great to hear!" The girl turned to Chiho and pulled something out of her back pocket.

"Here are some wipes. They should help take out the stains."

"Oh. Thank you!" Chiho said.

"That's very kind of you, ma'am!" Maou flashed an appreciative smile at the girl. He looked at her nametag, it read 'Mari Hitodama.'

"Ms. Hitodama?" he tried to ask.

"Just Mari is fine, I'm not a hostess."

"Mari? This is a great place you have here. I just wanted to say that the service here is amazing! Is it fun to work here?"

* * *

Mari blinked in a confused manner. 'This guy sure is curious about the service here.' She thought to herself. 'Best to put on a show!'

Mari grinned as she posed semi-dramatically before happily replying, "My motto is: 'If you love the work, then you do it well!"

The guy who asked the question nodded, content with Mari's answer. The younger girl glowed pink with embarrassment. Or was that anger? She handed Mari back the wipes, hands trembling. Mari took hold of the wipes, but the girls grip was too strong. They stood there for some time smiling awkwardly at each other until the girl finally let go of the wipes, allowing Mari to place the wipes back in her pocket.

The child in the man's arms clapped her hand together in an enthusiastic manner.

"Happy to help!" Mari said simply, walking away from them to go and find a broom to clean up the mess.

'One hour and you shift ends!' Mari was glad that soon she would go home, bother Chikaze a little, take a shower and finish that skyline.

* * *

The group that went to the bathroom returned as soon as Mari left. Urushihara still looked a little sick, but not enough to worry about leaving the park early.

"Mama!" Alas=Ramus leaped out of Maou's arms to get to Emi.

"Why is your face all wet?" Emi asked the child, wiping off the tear stains.

"The lunch box was knocked off the table and the noise spooked her." Maou answered the question.

Emi looked at the mess on the table.

"I'm gone for ten minutes and you already made this place a disaster zone!"

"Calm down. One of the workers went to find something to help clean up. We should get out of her way."

"I wanna see ice birds!" Alas=Ramus squealed.

"She means penguins." Chiho added, seeing the confused looks on the other's faces.

"Penguins it is!" Maou called out, pointing a proud finger toward the area of the park they had yet to visit.


End file.
